Janesville holds near full employment as state job growth stalls
3.7%
Rock County unemployment
July 2026, vs 3.1% MSA low in May
-8,100 jobs
Wisconsin job count change
Since Nov. 2024 peak of 3,051,000
64.5%
Wisconsin labor force participation
Down from 65.4% a year ago; still above 61.8% US
+253 jobs (2.3%)
County health services job growth
Through March 2026, vs. 1.3% loss in trade/transport
This Month's Takeaways
01
Rock County is outperforming the state, not just the nation.
July's 3.7% county unemployment rate and May's 3.1% MSA rate run well below Wisconsin's stalling job-growth trend, where the state has lost 8,100 jobs since November 2024. Local resilience appears tied to health services expansion rather than a broad-based statewide recovery.
02
Healthcare and skilled trades are pulling local wage growth upward.
Registered nurse pay rose to a local median of $112,372 and electrician pay to $83,200, both significant increases that outpace their national counterparts. Both trends track the statewide pattern of education/health services and construction-adjacent trades concentrating job and wage growth.
03
White-collar local pay is diverging sharply from the national trend.
Local accountant pay fell significantly to $63,798 against a rising national median of $72,182, and business analyst pay dropped to $77,000 versus a rising $98,279 nationally. Pattern is consistent with the national September data showing finance and administrative roles softening while hands-on sectors tighten.
04
Manufacturing's wage base remains a quiet local strength.
Rock County manufacturing employs 11,477 workers at an average wage of $72,916, a durable anchor even as statewide manufacturing employment edges down 0.2%. Local manufacturing production/assembler advertised pay has softened, suggesting wage pressure concentrated in incumbent, longer-tenured positions rather than new postings.
Local Economic Conditions
Rock County's 3.7% July unemployment rate and a May MSA reading of 3.1% point to a tighter local labor market than the statewide picture, where Wisconsin has shed 8,100 jobs since its November 2024 peak amid contraction in trade, transportation and manufacturing. Local momentum is concentrated in education and health services, which added 253 county jobs (2.3%) through March, while advertised pay for registered nurses ($112,372, up significantly) and electricians ($83,200, up significantly) suggests sustained demand in healthcare and skilled trades even as white-collar categories like accounting and business analysis soften locally.
Open Threads in the Data
Divergence between a resilient local unemployment rate and a cooling statewide job count suggests Rock County's economy is, for now, insulated from broader Wisconsin softness, a distinction useful when benchmarking expansion or investment timing against state-level headlines. Sharp local pay gains in registered nursing, electrical trades and financial analysis alongside declines in accounting, business analyst and administrative postings point to a bifurcated local economy where skilled-trade and healthcare capacity may be the binding constraint on growth rather than overall labor availability. Commerce leaders evaluating local expansion should consider weighing sector-specific capacity signals, particularly in healthcare and skilled trades, rather than relying on the county's favorable headline unemployment rate alone.
Advertised Pay Indicators · WageScape Benchmark 25 Jobs
Job postings data for the Janesville, WI MSA metro — median advertised pay, its recent trend, and the number of active postings behind each figure. Jobs are grouped for readability and are not the same as the 10 sector classifications on the next page. For additional job detail contact WageScape.
Retail Trade
| Retail Sales Associate |
$31,652 |
→ Stable |
431 |
| Retail Cashier |
$29,639 |
↓ Moderate decline |
245 |
Transportation & Warehousing
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate |
$36,618 |
↓ Moderate decline |
207 |
| CDL Truck Driver |
$78,798 |
→ Stable |
2,067 |
| Delivery Driver |
$34,778 |
↓ Significant decline |
356 |
| Warehouse Manager |
$75,110 |
↑ Moderate increase |
12 |
Construction
| Construction Laborer |
$41,454 |
↓ Moderate decline |
86 |
Construction/Skilled Trades
| Electrician |
$83,200 |
↑ Significant increase |
83 |
| HVAC Technician |
$69,462 |
↑ Moderate increase |
939 |
Manufacturing
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler |
$39,000 |
↓ Moderate decline |
287 |
Cross-Sector
| Customer Service Representative |
$39,313 |
→ Stable |
270 |
| Operations Manager |
— |
Limited local postings |
— |
Leisure & Hospitality
| Food Service Worker |
$35,360 |
↑ Moderate increase |
36 |
Healthcare
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide |
$44,772 |
→ Stable |
492 |
| Registered Nurse |
$112,372 |
↑ Significant increase |
1,960 |
Admin/Office Support
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk |
$43,599 |
↓ Moderate decline |
115 |
Information/Technology
| Software Engineer |
$142,668 |
→ Stable |
13 |
| Data Engineer |
$153,285 |
→ Stable |
20 |
Professional & Business Services
| Accountant |
$63,798 |
↓ Significant decline |
90 |
| HR Generalist/Manager |
$74,143 |
↑ Significant increase |
26 |
| Marketing Specialist |
$57,160 |
→ Stable |
699 |
| Business Analyst |
$77,000 |
↓ Significant decline |
10 |
Finance & Insurance
| Financial Analyst |
$110,000 |
↑ Significant increase |
25 |
Government/Education
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher |
$45,531 |
→ Stable |
315 |
Cross-Sector Sales
| Account Manager |
$113,981 |
↑ Significant increase |
100 |
Industry Snapshot · Janesville, WI MSA
Advertised pay and job-posting trends across the whole metro economy, rolled up by employer industry — not just the bellwether roles above.
| Sector |
Median Pay Change |
Job Postings Change |
| Construction |
→ −0.2% |
↑ +217.1% |
| Manufacturing |
↑ +27.2% |
↑ +62.7% |
| Retail Trade |
→ −2.6% |
↑ +42.6% |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities |
↑ +6.6% |
↑ +175.4% |
| Information |
→ +2.4% |
↓ −9.2% |
| Financial Activities |
↑ +11.7% |
↑ +300.0% |
| Professional & Business Services |
↑ +4.1% |
↑ +56.0% |
| Education & Health Services |
↑ +15.7% |
↑ +72.9% |
| Leisure & Hospitality |
↓ −4.0% |
↑ +77.3% |
| Government |
↑ +71.2% |
↑ +516.7% |
Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days
Expected
BLS is due to release September Janesville-Beloit MSA unemployment figures in early October; a reading near or below the 3.1% May low would reinforce the county's outperformance of state trends, while a jump toward Wisconsin's broader 2026 softness would be the first sign local insulation is eroding.
Worth watching
Wisconsin's core inflation at 3.9% against a 4.2% forecast wage gain for 2026 leaves little real purchasing-power cushion; local consumer-facing sectors (retail, food service) should be watched for spending pullback signals given metro retail cashier and warehouse pay are already trending down.
Emerging pressure point
National WARN filings concentrated in manufacturing, retail and logistics (Amazon, Tyson Foods, FedEx, Kroger among filers) have not yet shown up meaningfully in Wisconsin's 56 statewide notices this year. A rise in county-level WARN activity tied to trade/transportation, the sector already contracting locally, would be a notable inflection point.
Early indicator
Wisconsin's labor force participation rate has slipped to 64.5% from 65.4% a year ago even as the state outperforms the national 61.8% figure. Any further local decline would warrant attention from economic development officials assessing workforce capacity for business attraction efforts.
Sources & Methodology
Pay and hiring data provided by WageScape. See every source cited in this report, with links →
Advertised pay reflects the pay ranges employers publish in active job postings in this metro, not survey or payroll data. Pay trends compare the current period with the prior period for the same metro and role. Sector figures group postings by the employer's industry classification; sectors with limited classified postings are marked as such rather than estimated. This briefing is independent of, and complements, official statistics from the BLS and state labor market information offices.
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